30 Years of Life in Muthanna Complex, Now Tenants Face Heat, Dry Taps and Forced Eviction

25/08/2025

KUWAIT CITY, Aug 25: In the heart of Kuwait City, the Muthanna building stands witness to decades of commercial and residential activities, yet its residents are now experiencing a new chapter of forced eviction, reports Al- Seyassah daily.

Within walls bearing the stories of families who have lived there for more than 30 years, the air conditioning units and elevators have stopped working, and the cold water has dried up. Daily life has become a series of mounting pressures, which the building’s tenants described as a systematic attempt to push them to leave before the legal deadline of Aug 31.

Meanwhile,the Kuwait Authority for Public-Private Partnership (KAPP), in cooperation with the Ministry of Finance, announced an extension until Oct 28 for the purchase of documents and the submission of bids for Public Auction No. 2/2025 for the renovation, development, repair, major maintenance, management, operation and periodic maintenance of the Muthanna building project. On the other hand, accusations against the leasing company of harassing tenants continue.

Al-Seyassah received a new cry for help from the tenants of the Muthanna property, who confirmed that the leasing company is deliberately harassing them to force them to evacuate, despite holding leases valid until 2028 and not having reached the eviction deadline of Aug 31. The tenants indicated that those affected include 205 residential apartments and 53 commercial stores.

The tenants explained that they are ready to cooperate with the new investor, KAPP and the Ministry of Finance, provided they continue to occupy their apartments and stores under mutually agreeable terms that satisfy all parties. One of the affected people told Al-Seyassah “the crisis began when we were surprised by a poster on the building’s wall titled, ‘Final Notice to Evacuate the Rented Property — Al-Muthanna Complex,’ which included KAPP decision No. 2-6-2025 regarding the approval to put the project up for public auction in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 116/2016, and considering that the Ministry of Finance — in its capacity as the owner — and pursuant to Decree-Law No. 105/1980 regarding the State Property System, warns us to vacate the rented property and hand it over to the ministry by Aug 31, 2025 at the latest.

He added, “The notice also stipulates that failure to comply after the specified date will prompt the ministry to take eviction enforcement measures, including the complete suspension of services to the building, and taking all administrative measures for public interest. Although the deadline has yet to end, the rental company is committing daily violations against us. They turned off the air conditioning units in this hot weather, closed some elevators, stopped the cold water supply, and provided hot water only. They also prevented us from using parking spaces despite our payment of subscriptions in advance until October.”

He pointed out that the rental contracts of some residents are more than 30 years old, and that the contract period is five years and automatically renewed. He disclosed that he renewed his contract in 2023 and it is valid until 2028. He continued, “I invested more than KD20,000 in my apartment to maintain it for 23 years, and I am committed to paying KD450 rent in advance every six months. I and the rest of the tenants are prepared for any rent increase or any adjustment requested by the new investor, but we reject forced eviction.”